


Like a Goodbye

by renegadejaybird (vitious)



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-31
Updated: 2012-12-31
Packaged: 2017-11-23 02:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/616899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vitious/pseuds/renegadejaybird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xmas Present Prompt: Mass Effect, any pairing - Shepard never has enough time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like a Goodbye

Space was a strange place if one really thought about it.  It was full of so many cultures and religions, so many different belief systems and languages, that it was humbling to think that it was possible that she was one of the few people in her close group of friends knew much about Earth’s customs or, possibly, even celebrated birthdays.  Never mind that all of her closest friends were aliens and, well, her boyfriend, weren’t Earth natives, and she wasn’t certain if she should be amused or concerned.

 

“You’re thinking too hard again.” came a voice from behind her, clawed fingers curling over her shoulders. “Your face kind of does this strange scrunch thing.”  
  
“Thanks, Garrus.” she breathed, tilting her head back to give her lover an amused look.  
  
“What are you thinking about?” he questioned, gently rubbing her shoulders the way he’d learned she liked.  
  
“Just how crazy my life’s gotten.”  
  
“Crazy does seem to gravitate towards you.”  
  
Shepard gave her lover an amused look, lifting her hands to lightly pat his, staring up at the man that had been with her since the very beginning.  Through thick and thin, no matter what crazy situation she had landed herself in, Garrus was always there, fighting by her side.  Never in all their time together had he left her or questioned  how she got things done.  In fact, typically, he was the one urging her to do something crazy, pushing her along, keeping her going when the entire galaxy weighed on her shoulders.  
  
“Crazy like you?” she teased, feeling oddly at peace; Garrus tended to do that to her.  
  
“Second only to you.  Maybe Wrex.”  the Turian answered, leaning down to gently press their foreheads together.  
  
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”  
  
They sit in silence for a time, simply enjoying one another’s presence, something which they seemed to have less and less time for as of late.  Saving the galaxy tended to interfere with one’s personal life, something which made Shepard wish that she’d met Garrus long ago.  Perhaps then things would have been different, perhaps they would have had more time together.  Then again she supposed that there would be enough time to spend with her Turian, even if the Reaper Invasion hadn’t happened.  
  
“You’re doing that look again.” Garrus murmured, causing Shepard to sigh and reach up, fingers trailing over his mandibles.  
  
“Yeah, well, I’m just thinking that I got shafted.” She muttered, closing her eyes.  
  
“You’re the only one I’d trust to save the Galaxy, though I do kind of wish someone else would step up for once.” Garrus admitted, his hands moving to cup her face. “Meeting you, though…”  
  
“Best thing that’s happened on this damn mission gone wrong.” Shepard muttered, shaking her head.  “C-Sec officer gone rogue, vigilante, War Hero…”  
  
“First human spectre, Spectre gone rogue, and the woman that’s going to save the whole galaxy.  I can do the flattery thing too, you know.” the Turian teased, leaning into the human’s touch as she traced his scars with her fingers.  
  
“Can we… Go to my Cabin?  Or somewhere private?  I just…”  
  
“Yes!.  I… That sounded too eager, didn’t it?”  
  
Chuckling, Shepard climbed to her feet and reached up, tugging a little at the collar of the Turian’s armor, looking amused. “At ease, Soldier.”  
  
“Dirty talk already?  Wow I must have done something right.” Garrus mused, laughing softly.  
  
Rolling her eyes, the Human pushed him in the direction of the lift, shaking her head and smiling, absently glancing around the room; it seemed they’d been lucky and had some privacy, but there was always someone about.  Shepard only relaxed once they were in the lift and heading up to her cabin, her shoulders slumping a little.  Garrus’ hands curled around her shoulders, gently pulling her against him, his hold loose just in case she wanted to pull away; the Turian was always so wary around her, even then.  She leaned against him, grateful, until they reached her Cabin and, even then, it took her a few heartbeats to actually draw far enough away for them to walk.  
  
Shepard slipped inside her cabin and immediately moved to stand in front of the large fish tank that took up nearly half a wall.  Bracing her hands against the glass the Spectre leaned forward a little her eyes slipping shut, slumping a little, letting her Turian lover curl his arms around her protectively.  Garrus stepped close, letting her feel him against her back, telling her that he was there, that he was willing to be the strong one for a bit.  
  
“I don’t think we’re coming back from this, Garrus.” Shepard breathed finally, her throat working around the sudden knot that formed in it.  “Something’s telling me that we’re heading into a battle that’s going claim a lot of this crew… _My_ crew…”  
  
“We had a good run.  Even if we were going to certain death, we’d all still follow you.” the Turian ‘s words were soft as he moved to carefully rub their faces together.  
  
“I don’t want any of you to die for me.” Shepard admitted, turning in Garrus’ arms to stare up at him. “I want you all to live for me.  Especially… Dammit.”  
  
Strong arms held her as he pressed her face against the neck of the Turian’s armor, her arms wrapping around him, squeezing.  Garrus didn’t say anything, did make pointless reassurances or promises he couldn’t keep, instead holding her and running his fingers through her hair.  She trembled a little, fear, stress, and weariness finally getting the upper hand as she allowed herself to fall apart a little in the arms of someone she had only met because of horror and calamity.  They were creatures of violence and action, they were soldiers who didn’t know what to do with peace, yet all Shepard wanted in that moment was more time, more peaceful moments, less blood and death.  
  
“I need more time.  I…” Shepard, shook her head, letting out a shuddering breath.  
  
“I’m glad we got any time.” Garrus murmured, causing the Human to draw back and stare at him.  
  
“That’s right.” the Spectre breathed, her eyes hooding, looking pained. “We both could have died when they first hit… And never seen each other again.”  
  
“Or, if there hadn’t have been Saren, we wouldn’t have met.”  
  
“Chaos.  Good news.”  
  
Shepard could tell the Turian was confused by the reference. “…Must be an Earth thing.”  
  
Laughing she nodded, pulling back to press a light kiss against his mouth. “Yeah, you could say that.”  
  
“No regrets, then?” Garrus questioned, his tone tentative; he always had trouble believing that Shepard actually wanted him.  
  
“No.” She shook her head, offering him a weak smile.  “If we get out of this alive, though, we’re taking a vacation, dammit.”  
  
Garrus nodded, his hold tightening a little.  “You can meet my family.”  
  
Shepard’s chest tightened a little at that, her mind adding ‘If they’re alive’ to the end of the sentence. “Yeah.  You can meet my mother.”  
  
The look on the Turian’s face showed that he understood, that their words were a little naive, but having hope when, realistically, there was none was something they’d gotten good at.  “We can rebuild.  It’ll be strange to hold tools for building instead of my rifle.”  
  
“But nice.” Shepard added, giving him another kiss, one that felt like goodbye.  
  
“Yeah.  It’ll be nice.” Garrus agreed and, the Human could tell, he felt as if their words were a signal of the end as well.


End file.
